Sure. I’m coming up. The slight downward mood in the back of my head, like an undercurrent carrying me further out to sea, strangely enough was spurred on by 12 Monkeys. I really like that movie. I remember seeing it at the discount theater with Amy & Annie, not knowing what to expect and still not really knowing what I just saw when we stepped outside at 9pm into the 90 degree heat of Phoenix, Arizona.
I’ve probably seen the movie 6 or 7 times and the underlying (or blatant) themes always get me. Sure. It’s a sci-fi flick with time travel and paradoxical questions of changing the timeline, and the future of man – but there’s obviously more. So. I downloaded the movie that inspired 12 Monkeys -
From Wikipedia:
La jetée (English: The Jetty and The Pier) (1962) is a 28-minute black and white science fiction film by Chris Marker. Constructed almost entirely from still photos, it tells the story of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel.
La jetée has no dialogue aside from small sections of muttering in German; the story is told by a voice-over narrator. It is constructed almost entirely from optically printed photographs playing out as a photomontage of varying pace. It contains only one brief shot originating on a motion-picture camera. The stills were taken with a Pentax 24×36 and the motion-picture segment was shot with a 35mm Arriflex.[2] The film score was composed by Trevor Duncan.
And while I totally, totally indulge in fleeting moments of… ah forget it.
I’ve been running on and off for weeks and this week I finally felt like I had gotten back to where I once was – which isn’t much compared to others but still, a decent 10 minute mile for 3 miles and that’s all the time I have in the mornings – When I’m awake, when I’m rested, and when I’m lost – I run like a machine. I have breath, I’m not gasping, and my mechanics are as efficient as possible (When you’re me and you run on a treadmill instead of outside – you can actually think about running form.)
Leah’s helping another round of auditions for the talent show/fundraiser her company is giving (don’t worry, she works for a nonprofit that aides children with autism and other developmental disabilities) – so I’m here studying, writing, studying and ummm… studying more. This photo? Taken a long time, after a long hike in the eastern range of mountains in Phoenix. Like many things in the moment, I didn’t realize/appreciate this scene. Looking back… the six hours to get up there was nothing.
I feel like waking up.
*If you want to see La jetée – Leave a comment and I’ll set you up with a download link.